Someone Like Her

Finding his mother is the only reason Adrian Rutledge would set foot in this backward place. In fact, he can’t get out of town fast enough. At least, that’s his attitude before Lucy Peterson works her magic on him. The café owner is nothing like what he thought he needed, yet she’s all he wants.

Then the job pulls him back to the city and Adrian slips into the life he once worked hard to achieve. And while it may not fit the way it did, he can’t simply abandon it. Or can he? Because suddenly he’s tempted by everything Lucy’s offering.

Since tomorrow marks my return to the day job for the school year, I thought I’d do a post in homage to all those back-to-school essay assignments of days gone by. We’d had a lot planned for this summer, including a trip to the Omaha Zoo, Cub Scout camping in Minnesota, and a trip to Cheyenne to visit my folks and go to my 20-year high school reunion.

None of that happened.

Instead, we went to doctors’ offices, attended a billion Little League games, and watched my husband’s hair fall out, thanks to his chemo. But there was some fun to be had, including baseball. We went to the local water park a lot, and even managed a quick day trip to Watertown. We went to the small but quite fun zoo, the Mellette House, the museum, and the Redlin Art Center. We packed a lot into one day, and the kids had a blast. I was exhausted, but had a great time.

And summer’s not quite done just yet. We still have a couple weeks of water park fun, and we’ll be doing a small local camp out with Cub Scouts. Yeah, I’m a little less excited about that one, but it should be fun.

Some of you already know of my BBC obsession. It is an obsession. Sometimes I watch more British TV than I do American, mostly because I enjoy British humor so much more. It’s dry and you have to think about it sometimes. American humor, at least on TV, tends to be a little juvenile and blue. Then again, living with three adolescent males might have something to do with that perception.

I’m spreading my addiction, by the way. The youngest was enraptured when we saw Torchwood had a mini series starting, and is waiting impatiently for tonight’s Doctor Who.And we’re both annoyed that we don’t get the series at the same time they do in the UK, but that’s life across the pond.

A while ago, I blogged that I should write science fiction. These two series prove that I could never do it well. The twists and turns they take! I never see it coming. Well, rarely. And, as one commenter stated, science fiction does not necessarily need to take place on other planets. Torchwood proves that point perfectly, and the writers – well, I am in awe. Although, as my 9-year-old son pointed out, they missed something. Plot hole alert! Oh, and spoiler alert, too.

If Jack can regenerate from bits, after blowing him up, wouldn’t there be several Jacks regenerating?

Then again, maybe this is how they would bring him back for Series 4 now that he’s all gloomy and depressed.

The writing for these series, though, is amazing. They back the characters into a no-win situation – really, there’s no way out – and then manage to get them out of it anyway! Trust me, I’m taking notes. These are the lessons every writer of every genre needs to learn and re-learn.

So by watching the Beeb for hours on end, can I consider that “writing” time?

Since Let’s Dish revolves so much around food, a lot of folks have asked me about recipes from the book. So I have a confession to make: I don’t have any recipes. Honestly, I just made the stuff up. However, since I’ve had so many requests, my librarian and I have decided I need to try to make some of this stuff.

This blog is not about that.

Yeah, haven’t actually tried to create many of those recipes yet, But I am a total foodie. Problem is, I never measure anything. I am a dash-of-this, bit-of-that kind of cook, so sharing my recipes requires me to sit down and think about how much a bit and a dash are.

Today, I’ll share with you one recipe that is one of my favorite go-to dinners. It’s simple, inexpensive, and even my kids will eat it. I’ve posted this a couple places before, including on the Samhellion, so forgive me if you’ve seen it before. I promise new, exciting recipes coming in the future.

Orange Chicken

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon chicken seasoning

16 oz jar orange marmalade

¼ cup orange juice

1 small can mandarin oranges

Optional Ingredients:

Slivered Almonds

¼ cup white wine (instead of orange juice) for a more French flair

2 tablespoons soy sauce for a more Asian taste

Sprinkle seasoning over chicken breasts and brown in olive oil until almost cooked through. Add marmalade, mandarin oranges, and orange juice (or wine or soy sauce) and allow sauce to reduce for approximately five to ten minutes. Serve over rice.